By Nichola Saminather
Feb 1 (Reuters) - Canada's benchmark stock index fell to a
new eight-week low on Thursday, on track for its fourth day of
losses, as a hawkish Federal Reserve sapped demand for equities
and gold prices slipped.
* The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index
opened 0.2 lower percent, and was trading down 56.65
points, or 0.36 percent, at 10:01 a.m. EST (1501 GMT). It
earlier touched its lowest level since Dec. 6.
* Financial information company Thomson Reuters Corp
was the biggest decliner for the second straight day,
after some analysts cut their ratings. Rating agency Standard &
Poor's also placed the company on credit watch "negative" from
"stable," and Moody's Investor Service put its rating on review
for a downgrade. The company on Tuesday announced a deal to sell
55 percent of its Financial & Risk business to Blackstone Group
.
* NovaGold Resources was among the biggest
decliners.
* Gold prices fell 0.2 percent to $1,342.58 an ounce.
* Hudbay Minerals was the biggest gainer on the
index, rising 2.6 percent, despite a 0.4 percent drop in copper
prices .
(Reporting by Nichola Saminather; Editing by Nick Zieminski)